NEWS BRIEFS: Tori Aims for Shameless

CAST: Actress Tori Spelling, 31, former resident of "Beverly Hills, 90210," has joined the cast of UPN's comedy pilot "Me, Me, Me," about two good-looking New York women who shamelessly climb the social ladder, says the Hollywood Reporter. Her costar will be Ayda Field. Last seen in the Hallmark Channel's "A Carol Christmas" and the WB's comedy "The Help," Spelling is next due to appear in the movie "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover."

DIAGNOSED: High-profile attorney Johnnie Cochran, 66, will temporarily curtail his work while recuperating from an undisclosed neurological condition, his publicist said. Cochran's family has requested the nature of his condition, which reportedly is not life-threatening, remain private.

QUOTED: "You are not welcome here. You are fired as an intern. Please leave." -- Chef Rocco DiSpirito, 37, on Monday night's new-season premiere of NBC's "The Restaurant"

CONFIRMED: NBC says that Dec. 1 will bring Tom Brokaw's final broadcast as anchor of the "NBC Nightly News." Brokaw, 64, has been at his desk since 1983. Brian Williams will take over the newscast on Dec. 2.

WED: Nobel Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie, 56, whose first three marriages ended in divorce, married Padma Lakshmi, 31, in New York on Saturday. Among the 275 guests, say reports, were comics Steve Martin and Robert Klein, as well as members of the international literary community. The ceremony included a quote from Shakespeare: "At your feet/Into sunset to live happily ever ..."